Measurement of Pu and U isotopes on the 1 MV AMS system at the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores

In the last decade, compact AMS systems have demonstrated their potential to measure actinides (236U, 239,240,244Pu, 237Np). With an appropriate detection system, kinematic filters with enough mass resolution, and a simple chemical procedure, the determination of plutonium isotopes and 237Np at environmental levels is currently possible with this new generation of facilities with even better performance than with conventional AMS systems. However, the measurement of 236U (T1/2=23.4 My), produced by neutron capture on 235U, is still a challenge, due to the interference caused by 235U and 238U. In this work, we will explore the possibilities that the 1 MV AMS system at the CNA offers for the measurement of uranium isotopes at environmental levels, in terms of detection limit, efficiency, and precision. Considering the very promising 239Pu/238U mass suppression factor achieved with our system, of about 10-9, a limiting 236U/238U atomic ratio of about 10-11 was expected, approaching the levels expected in natural uranium. However, to date, only the 10-9 level has been obtained, possibly due to the lack of an appropriate uranium material. Currently, different natural uranium materials are being studied, in order to elucidate the origin of the interference. On the other hand, we will discuss the status of the plutonium measurements at our facility, based on the experience we have accumulated in recent years from the analysis of different matrixes over a wide range of plutonium concentrations

Discovery of Yttrium, Zirconium, Niobium, Technetium, and Ruthenium Isotopes

Currently, thirty-four yttrium, thirty-five zirconium, thirty-four niobium, thirty-five technetium, and thirty-eight ruthenium isotopes have been observed and the discovery of these isotopes is discussed here. For each isotope a brief synopsis of the first refereed publication, including the production and identification method, is presented.Comment: To be published in Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Table

Plutonium and uranium contamination in soils from former nuclear weapon test sites in Australia

The British government performed a number of nuclear weapon tests on Australian territory from 1952 through to 1963 with the cooperation of the Australian government. Nine fission bombs were detonated in South Australia at Emu Junction and Maralinga, and a further three fission weapons were detonated in the Monte Bello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. A number of soil samples were collected by the Australian Radiation Laboratories in 1972 and 1978 during field surveys at these nuclear weapon test sites. They were analysed by gamma spectrometry and, for a select few samples, by alpha spectrometry to measure the remaining activities of fission products, activation products and weapon materials. We have remeasured a number of these Montebello Islands and Emu Junction soil samples using the ANTARES AMS facility, ANSTO. These samples were analysed for plutonium and uranium isotopic ratios and isotopic concentrations. Very low ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu ratios were measured at both sites (∼0.05 for Alpha Island and ∼0.02 for Emu Field), substantially below global fallout averages. Well correlated but widely varying ²³⁶U and plutonium concentrations were measured across both sites, but 233U did not correlate with these other isotopes and instead showed correlation with distance from ground zero, indicating in situ production in the soils. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.5 page(s

Measurement of Pu and U isotopes on the 1 MV AMS system at the Centro

In the last decade, compact AMS systems have demonstrated their potential to measure actinides (236U, 239,240,244Pu, 237Np). With an appropriate detection system, kinematic filters with enough mass resolution, and a simple chemical procedure, the determination of plutonium isotopes and 237Np at environmental levels is currently possible with this new generation of facilities with even better performance than with conventional AMS systems. However, the measurement of 236U (T1/2=23.4 My), produced by neutron capture on 235U, is still a challenge, due to the interference caused by 235U and 238U. In this work, we will explore the possibilities that the 1 MV AMS system at the CNA offers for the measurement of uranium isotopes at environmental levels, in terms of detection limit, efficiency, and precision. Considering the very promising 239Pu/238U mass suppression factor achieved with our system, of about 10-9, a limiting 236U/238U atomic ratio of about 10-11 was expected, approaching the levels expected in natural uranium. However, to date, only the 10-9 level has been obtained, possibly due to the lack of an appropriate uranium material. Currently, different natural uranium materials are being studied, in order to elucidate the origin of the interference. On the other hand, we will discuss the status of the plutonium measurements at our facility, based on the experience we have accumulated in recent years from the analysis of different matrixes over a wide range of plutonium concentrations.Copyright (c) 2011 AMS12

Actinides AMS on the VEGA accelerator

The VEGA 1MV accelerator at ANSTO is designed to be a highly versatile AMS instrument. In this paper we focus on describing those aspects of the system that are designed to optimise its performance for actinides isotopic analysis, in particular the implementation of fast isotope cycling and multiple isotope detection methods to enable isotope detection across a wide range of rates and currents. Charge state yields are reported in the energy range from 0.3 to 1.0 MeV with helium gas stripping, showing that the highest yield for the 3+ charge state occurs around 1 MeV and exceeds 40%. Accuracy and precision for uranium isotope ratios are shown to approach 1% over a wide range of concentrations and isotope ratios. The ionisation efficiency for plutonium is shown to exceed 3%, leading to overall detection efficiency over 1%. In the absence of background, this leads to sub-attogram detection limits for several Pu isotopes including244Pu

Actinides AMS on the VEGA accelerator

The VEGA 1MV accelerator at ANSTO is designed to be a highly versatile AMS instrument. In this paper we focus on describing those aspects of the system that are designed to optimise its performance for actinides isotopic analysis, in particular the implementation of fast isotope cycling and multiple isotope detection methods to enable isotope detection across a wide range of rates and currents. Charge state yields are reported in the energy range from 0.3 to 1.0 MeV with helium gas stripping, showing that the highest yield for the 3+ charge state occurs around 1 MeV and exceeds 40%. Accuracy and precision for uranium isotope ratios are shown to approach 1% over a wide range of concentrations and isotope ratios. The ionisation efficiency for plutonium is shown to exceed 3%, leading to overall detection efficiency over 1%. In the absence of background, this leads to sub-attogram detection limits for several Pu isotopes including 244Pu.We acknowledge the financial support from the Australian Government for the Centre for Accelerator Science at ANSTO through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)

Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Accelerators in Applied Research and Technology (ECAART12) available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/nuclear-instruments-and-methods-in-physics-research-section-b-beam-interactions-with-materials-and-atoms/vol/406/part/PA

The Centre for Accelerator Science at ANSTO operates four tandem accelerator systems for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and Ion Beam Analysis (IBA). The latest addition to the fleet is SIRIUS, a 6 MV combined IBA and AMS system. Following initial ion beam testing, conditioning and debugging software and hardware, SIRIUS is now commissioned. Details of the instrument design and performance data for 10Be, 26Al and 36Cl are presented